LONDON (AP) — The scale of the child sex abuse scandal engulfing the BBC expanded on Thursday as authorities announced that 300 potential victims had come forward with accusations against one of the broadcaster’s most popular children’s entertainers and that others might have acted with him.

The scandal swirling around one of Britain’s most respected news organizations also prompted a spirited defense from New York Times chairman and publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. of the paper’s incoming CEO, the former top executive of the BBC.